Back Again
by JDB7707
Summary: Ryan is back home to face the town she hates and the man she doesn't. AU/NO ZA. One shot.


_**AN: I swore I'd never write anything Walking Dead. But Sweetkiwi604 kept saying why not. So I gave it a shot. A special thank you to her for listening to my ramblings (there were many) and encouraging me. **_

_**As always, thoughts and feedback are welcome.**_

Back Again

There were a lot of reasons living in a small town sucked, the biggest being the absolutely accurate stereotype that everyone knows everyone else's business. Ryan sat on her couch replaying the day's events. Everywhere she had gone today, someone had given her a dirty look or whispered behind their hand about her. A few even stopped to offer their opinion on her or her soon to be ex-husband. Such an awesome day.

But when you blow out of the town you spent your whole life in, essentially giving the middle finger to everyone you've ever known, you burn a few bridges. Especially when you leave with the man responsible for closing down the power plant that so many in the county depended on for a paycheck. The fact that she was back, less than a year after leaving, was too good for most people in town to pass up. She and her glorious mistakes would be fodder for conversation for a long time. _No one has ever_ _accused me of making good choices_, she thought. Thankfully, the tall glass of bourbon she was sipping was beginning to take the edge off and she felt the tension in her body begin to ebb.

Ryan was glad her brother Shane had ignored her repeated requests to sell her house after she left, like he knew she'd be back. The comfort and familiarity of her old place was about the only thing that made this easier. As she began to think back over the disaster that was the last year of her life, someone knocked on her front door. Considering how late it was, there was only one person it could be. Ryan cursed under her breath as she went to the door. When she opened it, sure enough there was Merle Dixon.

"Why are you here Merle?" she asked. She hadn't seen him since she'd been back in town and wasn't ready to deal with him.

"Now is that any way to treat a visitor? 'Specially one you ain't seen in a while? That year you spent in the big city took all your good graces away, huh darlin'?". His voice was dripping sarcasm. Merle pushed past her and made his way into the living room. He saw the glass of bourbon on the coffee table and picked it up, swallowing it down in one gulp. "Surprised to see ya still drink this stuff. Figured pretty boy woulda turned ya into a wine drinker or some shit". He chuckled, but there was no humor in his eyes as he stared her down. "Lettin' the cold air out leavin' that hangin' open", he said, motioning to the front door.

Ryan huffed out a breath and slammed it shut. "You my damn daddy now? Gonna tell me to clean my room next?". Every bit of the tension from the day was back, times ten. Merle had a special way of doing that to her. Ryan squeezed her eyes shut and pinched the bridge of her nose, willing herself to stay calm.

"Now come on Ryan. Was a time ya liked when I gave ya directions", he said in a low, deep drawl, his eyebrows raising knowingly.

Ryan's belly clenched and she struggled to keep herself in check. She opened her eyes and looked at him as his insinuation hung in the air. She'd slept with Merle for the first time when she was 17. He was Shane's friend and always around, so it was only a matter of time before it happened. Ryan had been in and out of his bed ever since. And although he never reciprocated her feelings, she was completely in love with him. But after 20 years, she'd had her fill. So she ran off to Atlanta and married a man she didn't love and didn't love her.

But the man standing in front of her didn't love her either, she reminded herself. "Don't. I've carried a torch for you for 20 years and you've done nothing but use it against me to keep my around when you need a good lay. I'm done. You need to go".

Her words seemingly had no effect. Merle squared his shoulders and began to move toward her like a determined predator. "No".

"Yes! Get out!". Ryan turned to reach for the door knob but he was instantly on her, hand closing around her throat and shoving her back against the door. She raised her arm in an attempt to slap him, but he grabbed her wrist with his other hand and twisted up above her head at an awkward angle. It hurt like hell and when she cried out, Merle tighten his grip on her throat.

"Stop Ryan! Stop 'fore ya get hurt". Merle's eyes bore into her's until he felt her body relax a little. He let go of her wrist and brought his forehead down to her's, never breaking eye contact. His hand loosened on her throat, letting her draw in a few deep, shuddering breaths. "Look at me and tell me ya don't want me anymore", he said slowly, voice husky and full of desire. "Tell me ya haven't missed me. How it feels when I'm movin' inside ya. How hard I make ya come".

Ryan hated how her body betrayed her. As soon as he had touched her she was wet and saying the things he did made the fire inside her flame out of control. God yes she still wanted him. But she wanted more than just sex and knew he wasn't going to give that.

"I said go!", Ryan screamed, pushing on his chest, trying to get away. When he didn't relent, she closed her eyes and turned her face from his trying to break the contact.

"Fuck that!", Merle snarled, grabbing Ryan's face and pulling it back to him. He crashed his mouth onto her's wildly, kissing her as if he'd been starved.

Ryan's thoughts were thrown into chaos, everything crashing around her in a storm of emotion and primal need. Any fight she had in her was gone as Merle's hands began to roughly roam her body. He moved them under her shirt, clawing at her stomach as he kissed down her neck. When he reached her bra he pushed it and her shirt up exposing her breasts to his hungry mouth. He began to bite and suck, drawing cries of pleasure from deep within Ryan's chest.

Taking her arms from his shoulders, Ryan ripped her bra and shirt the rest of the way over her head, then went to work on his. Merle pulled back from her breasts to let her, going for her jeans in the process. They became a flurry of arms and clothing as each rushed to rid the other of anything that would keep them from being skin to skin. In the process, Ryan had a fleeting thought that this was exactly what shouldn't be happening. But it was just that...fleeting. When Merle pulled her away from the door and halfway dragged, halfway carried her to her bedroom, all rational thought was gone.

Merle pushed Ryan down on the bed, his rock hard dick digging into her thigh as he came to lay over her. His fingers made their way to her pussy and he let out a haggard breath when he felt just how wet she was. "Ya said ya didn't want me, darlin', but ya pussy's sayin' different." He shoved two fingers inside and began to move them slowly in and out, scissoring them every few strokes, making Ryan arch off the bed in sweet agony and moan his name.

"That's it darlin'. You remember don't ya...how good Merle makes ya feel. Can't ever forget it". Merle fastened his pace, fingers violently thrusting in and out, Ryan's juices running over his hand. "Ruined ya didn't I? Ruined ya for any other man". At that, Merle grabbed his dick and slammed into her so hard they both grunted in pain. He put his hand on her knees and pushed down, pinning her to the bed and began hammering into her. Ryan chanted his name over and over as he fucked her. The mistakes of the past year faded away for the moment and this was all that mattered. She was with Merle and all was right with the world for now. She would think about everything else tomorrow.

When her orgasm hit, it rolled through her slowly, heat and pressure flooding her body. She dug her fingernails into Merle's ass, triggering his release. They came together, crying out each others name's, bodies tangled and writhing.

...

Merle was laying on his side with his arm wrapped around Ryan's shoulders. Her back was against his chest, head rolled to the side by his bicep. He was softly stroking his fingers up and down her neck.

"The last year damn near killed me...you bein' gone". Ryan stiffened and tried to turn to face him, but he tightened his arm holding her still.

"Ya think I don't care about ya but I do. Wouldn't a kept comin' back to ya all these years if I didn't". He paused for a moment, letting that sink in. "But I can't be what you need me to be. Ain't ever gonna be able to be completely faithful, give ya what ya deserve. Ain't who I am. That's why things have always been the way they have with us. Can't hurt ya like that". He kissed the top of her head and moved his other arm around her, holding her in a tight hug.

His admission should have crushed her. Instead, she was oddly comforted by the fact that he wouldn't try to be something he wasn't for fear of failing her. As fucked up as it was, Merle couldn't be with her _because_ he cared about her.

Ryan snuggled deeper into his embrace and smiled. "We're ten shades of screwy, you know that?".

Merle chuckled into her hair as she relaxed against him.


End file.
